


That Wasn't That

by BBJ_3



Category: Nanny McPhee (2005)
Genre: Archived, Character Study, F/M, No underage, nothing actually happens, obsessive simon, reposted, simon tracks down Nanny McPhee after the fact, weird story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-20 08:04:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14890701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BBJ_3/pseuds/BBJ_3
Summary: When Nanny McPhee left most houses, that was usually the end of that. The children behaved, and the family was whole again in whatever way it had been broken before her arrival. No one involved searched for her or put themselves near people with the need for her. No one, that is, but Simon Brown.





	That Wasn't That

                When Nanny McPhee left most houses, that was usually the end of that. The children behaved, and the family was whole again in whatever way it had been broken before her arrival. No one involved searched for her or put themselves near people with the need for her. She never saw any of the children again. Or, at least, they never saw her. Nanny McPhee became an odd dream for them; one they knew was real but couldn’t quite place. They remembered she had been ugly and then grew beautiful. They recalled she was strict but had an immensely warm heart. They thought of her fondly but rarely. That had been the pattern of things since the beginning of Nanny McPhee, and she had believed it would be the pattern until the end, she never minded though. Or, at least, not often.

                Simon Brown was nothing if not a determined young man. Since his mother died, he had done his best to scare away suitors for his father and any nanny that his father had hired. He had been the eldest all his life and was a natural leader. Simon Brown was meant for great things, normal things, but great things. He was a bright student, and when he wanted, could charm anyone. Every household that Nanny McPhee visited had one, if not several, such children. Which is why it was so peculiar that while all those other children could forget, Simon Brown could not.

                The eldest Brown went through school and on to the university without stop,; his mind understanding the unusualness of the situation and his consciousness determined to overcome it. Ultimately, though there was little Simon Brown failed to do if he so desired, he was unable to overcome his obsession with the mystery of Nanny McPhee. So, instead of helping his father with the funeral business or becoming a doctor as he had planned, Simon Brown instead became a writer, and a rather good one at that. However, he had a tendency that most do not find desirable in writers, but that many accept as the quirk of a creative mind. Simon Brown constantly moved from place to place. He claimed it was in search of inspiration when in actuality it was a search for naughty children and desperate parents. Simon Brown knew there was a formula for Nanny McPhee’s appearance, and he was certain he could figure it out. Which is why it wasn’t too surprising when he moved next door to the Jones family. There were five children, all of whom were terribly naughty, and two parents who were never home, and desperate to keep it that way. Yet, the parents did love their children and wanted the best for them and knew the children were good deep down, which was why it was the perfect home to need Nanny McPhee.

                Simon Brown, at the age of thirty-one, sat in his study at his desk that faced the window overlooking the Jones’s front door. The sounds of laughter and screams echoed up from next door, but he was too deeply enthralled with his newest book to care. The book was about a magical governess who fell in love with the single father for whose children she cared. A thought struck him, and he glanced up thinking that perhaps he needed to adopt some naughty children when he saw a woman in a black dress and hat. His heart leapt to his throat and he stood to lean closer to the glass, the woman held a wooden cane in her hand, and as she lifted it so slightly and tapped it down on the porch, sparks flew, and Simon Brown was certain that the doorbell rang. Simon Brown couldn’t believe his luck. He turned and raced down the stairs only to stop at his front door. He had always thought he would find her, but he had never thought about what he would do upon finding Nanny McPhee. Simon Brown would not let his fear keep him frozen. Grabbing his hat and scarf, he rushed outside and felt his heart race even faster.

                Nanny McPhee did not know that she was being watched by anyone besides those in front of her. The children looked up at her in horror, and the parents looked between each other in uncertainty. She was accustomed to such glances, to them she was an old woman with two warts and graying hair that was on the heavier side with a snaggletooth in front. She would slowly return to her natural self the closer the family came to not needing her.  

                Before Matilda Jones could ask, Nanny McPhee said, “Good evening, I am Nanny McPhee.”

                “Oh, yes, of course,” Matilda Jones was a middle-aged woman with long brown hair tied up in a loose bun. “Come in.” She stepped aside, and Nanny McPhee entered.

                The children looked up in a mix of horror and awe, but they were already sure they could get rid of her. Thomas Jones, a gangling man that was beginning to bald, walked forward to greet her. He held out his hand. “How do you do, Nanny McPhee?”

                “I am well,” she answered and shook the offered hand as thunder rumbled outside. Mrs. Jones closed the door and all proceed as it was supposed to, as it always had.

                Outside, however, Simon Brown stood in the rain and smiled at the sky. This was the rain he remembered. The rain that was not quite natural. Pulling off his hat, he let the water pour over him. Opening his eyes, Simon Brown saw one of the Jones children looking through the window at him. It was the second youngest, Amelia. Her elder brother James, the middle child, stepped up to her side to look as well.  The children had always liked Simon Brown and thought him quite clever. Simon Brown would often give them advice for how to get rid of their nannies and scare their father’s assistant, Milton Smith. Neither child heeded their mother, so she joined them at the window.

                “That poor Mr. Brown,” Matilda Jones sighed and forcibly pulled her children away from the window, so they could be introduced to Nanny McPhee. “He sorely needs a woman to take care of him.”

                Thomas Jones rolled his eyes. “Leave the poor man alone! His is the solitary sort.”

                Matilda Jones clucked her tongue in disagreement, and Nanny McPhee stepped forward to greet the two children. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Simon Brown spinning in the rain. Her eyes widened just a bit in surprise before she shook her head and went back to the task at hand. She would ignore this turn in events until the time came when such was unavoidable though she highly doubted anything would come of the fact that Simon Brown lived next door.

 ***

                The next day, when Matilda Jones was having tea with a friend, and Thomas Jones was in his office organizing his latest case, Simon Brown went up the Jones’s door with an assortment of wildflowers in his hand. He smiled brightly as he knocked on the door. Just as his hand fell to his side the door opened, and Gregory, the eldest boy and second oldest in all, frowned at him. The boy’s eyes flickered between the flowers in Simon’s hand to the elder’s face.

                “Hello, Gregory, would you mind fetching Nanny McPhee for me?” Gregory’s face twisted into one of confusion and slight shock.

                “You brought our nanny flowers? How are we to be rid of her if you flirt with her?” the boy complained, and Simon chuckled.

                “I am hardly sorry to say that you will only be rid of her when you want her to stay,” Simon Brown told the child who frowned deeper.

                “That’s what she said too.” Gregory then stepped to the side. “Come in, the lot of them are hiding from her…” he trailed off as he glanced behind and saw all his siblings solemnly sitting at the breakfast table. “I guess she found them. That was quick.”

                Simon entered, and Gregory closed the door. Nanny McPhee walked into the entry hall, and Simon smiled as she glanced at Gregory who politely moved past her and sat at the table. The Jones children then began to plot their next action while Nanny McPhee was concentrating on Simon Brown.

                “A pleasure to see you again,” Simon held out the flowers, and Nanny McPhee sighed. She led Simon Brown into the front parlor where she was within hearing range of the children and within sight if necessary. However, the moment the children could not see her, Simon blinked, and she was how she had been in that moment before she left.

                As if reading his mind, she explained, “I have already taught you what you need to know, so you can see what there is to be seen. But, should they look, I will be as I was.” She took the flowers and put them in a vase that came from nowhere. She turned to face him. “What are you doing, Simon?”

                “I saw you last night and decided to say hello, that’s all,” he told her, but he felt as though she saw right through him. The truth bubbled up and spilled out; her presence made him incapable of lying. “I can’t get you out of my head! Ever since you left I’ve been looking for you. I tried to ignore it, but I can’t.” He took her hands into his own.“I missed you.”

                “Simon,” her voice was soft, a warning.

                He let go of her hands and turned, walking a few paces. “I know, I know. When you are needed, but not wanted, then you stay. But when you are wanted but no longer need, then you must go.” He spun on his heels to face her. “Can’t you see I still need you?”

                “You do not need me, Simon. You are perfectly capable of handling yourself,” Nanny McPhee informed him, and he gritted his teeth.

                He stormed forward and grabbed her upper arms roughly, but the fury left him at the sight of her calm face. He ran his hands down her arms and took her hands into his once more. “I have spent nineteen years missing you, not understanding why I missed you so much. Everyone else thought of you fondly, but they seemed to forget you unless I mentioned you. You did so much for us…”

                “I merely did what I was hired to do,” she told Simon.

                “No, you did so much more. You were hired to take care of us, but you made us better than we were. You saved us by helping us understand how to save ourselves. You gave my father a wife and us a mother. And then you left, and I couldn’t be completely happy without you there. I love you,” Simon Brown confessed, and Nanny McPhee felt shock for the first time in years. Simon Brown seemed capable of throwing everything usual and normal to the wind, even for the magical Nanny McPhee.

                “Simon-” her voice was soft again and he could not stand it.

                “Don’t you understand, I know this isn’t normal or something that was supposed to happen. I understand that you have probably done this for who knows how long, and you aren’t used to someone trying to find you or confessing that they couldn’t forget you…but I spent more than half my life wishing that nothing had gone right just so you would have stayed,” Simon Brown could not stand to see the pity that touched the sky blue eyes of Nanny McPhee. Wrapping his arms around her, she let him hug her tightly. “Please, please tell me that there is some way that you would give this a chance…some way that there could be a chance.”

                “I am afraid, that I have no idea,” Nanny McPhee admitted slowly. Her uncertainty clearly audible in her voice as she spoke into Simon’s shoulder.

                “May I visit you?” Simon Brown whispered softly. “While you are here, that is.”

                “From what I have heard, the children are quite fond of you,” Nanny McPhee said in lieu of a reply as she could still not think of what to say.

                “Thank you,” he whispered and hugged her tighter before backing up. Laughter sounded from the kitchen, and Nanny McPhee moved to check up upon the children. Reaching out, Simon Brown took hold of her hand. She looked back at him and light glistened as she transformed back into her previous form. Simon Brown stared straight into her eyes and smiled when a small smile touched the lips of Nanny McPhee.

**Author's Note:**

> Another one shot I found in my backups. No explanations. I just remember spitting this out one night between exams.


End file.
